


Identity Crisis

by astudyinfic



Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Crowley as Raphael theory, M/M, Post-Apocalypse, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 09:54:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19809883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astudyinfic/pseuds/astudyinfic
Summary: Heaven wants to know who the demon who helped stop Armageddon was.BeforeAziraphale has no intention of telling them.





	Identity Crisis

_Who was he?_

The rumors, the whispers, they reached Aziraphale despite his estrangement from heaven. When the whole heavenly host is talking about something, even those still on earth would hear about it eventually. Even those Heaven preferred to pretend didn’t exist. 

The first time the rumors reached Aziraphale’s ears, he laughed it off immediately. Surely Heaven had better things to worry about than that, he told himself. Though by now they must have heard what happened in Hell and they already knew what “he” had done in Heaven, so maybe that fueled the momentum behind the rumors? He didn’t know and Aziraphale didn’t know anyone he could ask without putting himself and Crowley in danger. 

Eventually, the rumors would die out and he could forget all about it. 

Except that they didn’t. More and more he heard through the official channels that people were trying to figure out just who Crowley was. 

That is, who he was before his Fall. 

Both Heaven and Hell knew who Aziraphale was. For all his mild manners and soft-spoken nature, he was the Principality of the Eastern Gate, a more powerful being than any of the angels who attempted to force him back onto the company line. The original owner of War’s sword and the only one who truly knew how to wield it, Aziraphale may have suggested he could summon it whenever he needed. It wasn’t a lie, per se. He might be able to do that. He’d never tried. They didn’t need to know that. 

Aziraphale, despite his appearance, was dangerous and now that they thought about it, Heaven and Hell understood how he’d succeeded in ending Armageddon before it truly began. 

But he didn’t do it alone. 

As a demon, Crowley was nothing special, at least as far as Hell was concerned. The tempter who led Eve to Original Sin, he was commended on numerous occasions for his work on Earth but other than when one of his memos came through, they tended to forget about him. He didn’t rank higher than any other demon, a nobody in the hierarchy Downstairs, and he never sought to improve his station. 

As a demon, he was nothing. But against all odds, he managed to stop both Heaven and Hell from ending the world. 

So the question was, even if he didn’t amount to much as a demon, just who was he in Heaven before his fall? It was a question none of the angels could stop talking about. Everyone had a theory, and not one of them was correct. 

Aziraphale never intended to tell them that.

The truth was so much greater than anyone in Heaven imagined.  1

The most common theory was that the Archangel Raphael had fallen when no one was looking. Not that it was hard. Before the Garden, before the earth, before light, Raphael had vanished from Heaven, deciding that he preferred peace and solitude to what passed as peace Upstairs. Gabriel made a big deal of going to search for him and came back red-faced, mumbling something about leaving him alone for the rest of eternity. 

Maybe he had gone off somewhere but instead of peace and solitude, he found himself in the chaotic, dismal halls of Hell. Raphael wouldn’t be the first Archangel to fall so it wasn’t beyond the scope of possibility. 

This was the theory Aziraphale liked most because it was believable and yet as far from the truth as they could get. Crowley did, in fact, remind him of Raphael. Raphael who had been created to heal and create, who loved the stars and children, and everything good. He could see those traits in the demon he loved. When two brave angels came asking, desperate to find out which theory was correct, Aziraphale simply raised an eyebrow and gave a conspiratorial smile. 

He knew Raphael was living his eternal life among the stars he loved so much. After the Almostgeddon, the Archangel reached out to him, thanked him for helping to save everything they’d both come to love. Aziraphale planned a trip with Crowley to go visit him sometime in the next century, knowing the two would get along famously. 

Aziraphale looked forward to seeing his beautiful demon tongue-tied in the presence of one of the more famous archangels, and the only other one from Heaven who understood what the two of them had been fighting for.

No, Crowley was never an Archangel or Principality or any of the higher orders of angels. No, his beautiful, warm, wily love was just another face in the choirs of angels, the lowest rank of the Heavenly Host. Crowley admitted the truth to him not long after Arma-didn’t-happen, while the two of them curled together on the small sofa in the bookshop’s backroom four glasses into their favorite wine. 

In an embarrassed tone, Crowley told Aziraphale about being created to praise and obey, nothing more. How he helped create but was never allowed any creation of his own. But Crowley’s curiosity was his downfall and when he started asking questions, only Lucifer’s followers attempted to give him answers. He doubted that when he fell, anyone noticed. Why would they? “I was nobody, Angel,” his voice soft and sad, breaking Aziraphale’s heart. “I was nothing important in the Ineffable Plan.”

“On the contrary, my love,” Aziraphale whispered into his hair, lacing their fingers together and pulling Crowley closer. “You played one of the most important roles of all. Armageddon didn’t happen because of you. For that moment, you were the most important demon in existence.” 

Crowley tipped his head up, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss as he luxuriated in the love they had for one another. When the kiss broke, Aziraphale smiled at him, all the love the angel was capable of directed at the demon in his arms. “And even if you didn’t save the world, you still would be the most important being in my universe.”

Heaven could debate it for the rest of time for all Aziraphale cared. It didn’t matter who Crowley used to be. It never had. And sitting there, wrapped up in his lover’s arms, Crowley started to believe it.

* * *

1Obviously, She knew but since She wasn’t in the habit of engaging in gossip, it would remain a secret unless Crowley or Aziraphale chose to share._

**Author's Note:**

> As much as I love the "Crowley as Raphael" theory, I love the idea of this fallen angel who has nothing special other than an imagination and a love for the world being the one to save it.
> 
> Come yell at me on tumblr at [astudyinfic](http://astudyinfic.tumblr.com) or twitter at [astudyinfic](http://twitter.com/astudyinfic).


End file.
